StoreDot, an Israel-based battery startup, announced today that it produced the first 4680 cylindrical cell, like the ones unveiled by Tesla at Battery Day last year, that can charge in just 10 minutes.
Last year, Tesla unveiled its long-anticipated 4680 cell that they claim could reduce battery cost by as much as 50%.
4680 refers to the size 46mm by 80mm, which is much bigger than any other cylindrical cell produced before.
Tesla claimed to have solved thermal issues with creating cells of that size.
The automaker announced plans to produce the cells itself, which would be a first, but it also plans to partner with existing battery manufacturers to produce the new 4680 cells.
LG Energy Solutions, CATL, Samsung SDI, and others have all announced pilot production programs to try to build the cells and get a contract from Tesla.
Now StoreDot also announced its own foray into the 4680 cell format and made a bold claim about the charge rate.
The company has been focused on improving charge rates in EV battery packs for years, and it has made some impressive demonstrations before, including recharging an electric scooter in five minutes.
Today, StoreDot claims to have produced the first 4680 cell prototype capable of charging in 10 minutes:
“StoreDot, the pioneer of extreme fast charging battery technology for electric vehicles, reveals its ground-breaking silicon-dominant technology applied in extreme fast charging (XFC) cylindrical cells. In a world-first, the company demonstrated the prototype 4680 form factor that is fully charged in just 10 minutes.StoreDot’s extreme fast charging cylindrical cells utilize a 4680 format, the one increasingly favored by global car makers, and have been in development for over three years. Pioneering work for these breakthrough technologies was kicked off at Warwick University in the UK.”
Dr. Doron Myersdorf, StoreDot CEO, commented on the announcement:
“Achieving the goal of extreme fast charging a cylindrical cell in only 10 minutes has been on StoreDot’s technology roadmap from day one. After three years of vigorous development and testing, leveraging multiple vectors of our world class researches, I am hugely proud at the effective collaboration across our globe that enabled this important achievement. It’s highly significant that we can offer Electric Vehicle manufacturers the choice of cell formats, utilizing our XFC technology that will overcome the current barriers to EV ownership: range and charging anxiety.“
The company says that it can achieve volume production of the new cell by 2024.
Electrek‘s take
I like to always be careful with these types of announcements and I stay skeptical.
StoreDot looks like a serious company and I am sure that they did produce such a cell prototype, but I don’t know about the claim of charging in 10 minutes.
How does that translate to charging a bigger battery pack with hundreds of those cells?
We are going to have to wait and see where it leads.
Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast.
Author: Fred Lambert
Source: Electrek
